A self-sustaining way to address food insecurity
People who do not have a reliable source of food and wonder where future meals will come from are said to experience food insecurity. People experiencing food insecurity may suffer from hunger, or they may have to make choices like purchasing either medicine or food. With or without hunger, food insecurity has been linked to high blood pressure, heart disease, depression and other health problems, making it an important influence on people’s overall health, according to prior studies by researchers at Penn State.
In 2018, WIC and medical offices in Indiana County used SNAP-Ed funding to begin screening all patients at the clinic for food insecurity. People experiencing food insecurity were offered access to an onsite food pantry. After their visit, people were connected to local food banks or other resources to alleviate their food insecurity.
The food-insecurity screening program has since spread to five WIC offices and multiple medical offices. Adagio Health created the program using SNAP-Ed funding, but now the screenings and referrals occur without any money from SNAP-Ed.
“This is a great example of how SNAP-Ed can bring stakeholders together to make a change and then recede once it is no longer needed,” Zwergel said. “SNAP-Ed projects are not forever, but these funds enable us to improve systems to support healthy living. Once the change is made, we can address the next problem so that no project needs SNAP-Ed funds forever.”
Establishing the SNAP-Ed-funded farmers markets requires a great deal of research and coordination, according to Bender, but she said the program may be able to move toward becoming self-sustaining in the next few years.
SNAP-Ed in the future?
The federal funding bill that passed the House of Representatives and is currently being debated in the Senate would eliminate funding for SNAP-Ed. Bender and Zwergel said the program has historically enjoyed broad bipartisan support, and that it provides real value.
“SNAP-Ed is one of the most effective tools we have to connect food, health and community resilience,” said BJ Leber, president and chief executive officer of Adagio Health. “Its potential loss would be felt far beyond any one classroom or community. The ripple effect would be profound — especially in rural areas and other communities where access to resources is limited.”
Christine Brennan, PA SNAP-Ed project director in the Penn State Department of Nutritional Sciences, has monitored the positive impacts of SNAP-Ed supported programs for years.
“Across the nation, SNAP-Ed helps people by making the healthy choice the easy choice,” Brennan said. “Since a healthful diet is the cornerstone to a healthy lifestyle, the program just makes sense. PA SNAP-Ed touches the lives of hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians who live with limited resources, building their knowledge and skills to select and prepare nutritious foods. And as the farmers market and food-insecurity screening examples demonstrate, SNAP-Ed helps people improve their lives in real, sustainable ways.”